1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, method, and program for classifying image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In scanning documents using a conventional multifunction printer with a flatbed scanner, it is necessary to start scanning of a document one by one. That is, users need to place the document one by one on the glass surface of the document platen (flatbed platen), open and close a cover of a document platen before and after the setting of the document, and press a scan start button. To scan a document consisting of multiple chapters and store each chapter as a separate file, it is necessary to specify an output file name for each chapter and then start scanning of the chapter for each page, which expends considerable time and effort.
For example, for a document consisting of three chapters, each consisting of three pages, each chapter may be stored in a storage device as a separate file in accordance with the following operational procedures.
Operation 1: Select [Scan and Save] from a main menu on a screen.
Operation 2: Specify an output file name of a current chapter and where to save the file.
Operation 3: Open a cover of a document platen.
Operation 4: Place a current page in a current chapter on the glass surface of the document platen.
Operation 5: Close the cover of the document platen and press a scan start button.
Operation 6: After completing the scanning of the current page in the current chapter, press a set button for another page in the current chapter, if any, and return to Operation 3 to continue scanning of the following pages in the current chapter.
Operation 7: After completing the scanning of the last page in the current chapter, press a saving setting button for another chapter in the document, if any, and return to Operation 2 to continue scanning of the pages in the following chapter in the document as well as setting of the saving.
Operation 8: After completing the scanning of the last page in the current chapter and if the current chapter is the last chapter in the document, press an end button to complete the scanning of the document.
In the above operational procedures, it is necessary to specify a file name three times and start scanning of the document for each page, which expends considerable time and effort.
In the meantime, in recent years, a camera scanner is also known as a device for capturing image data of documents, in which a camera captures an image of a document placed on a document platen and image data of the document captured by the camera is processed and stored(see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-115334). The camera scanner disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-115334 performs a motion detection processing of images on the basis of amount of change between images that indicates how much change happens between a previously-captured image and a newly-captured image. This motion detection processing allows detection of timing at which a document is placed on a document platen and gets still. A document portion is recognized and extracted from image data captured at the detected timing and stored in a storage device as document image data after image processing such as projection correction and scaling is performed on the document portion, and then an image is projected using a projector.
The above-described camera scanner can save users from having to open and close a cover as compared to a conventional multifunction printer with a flatbed scanner. In addition, the above-described camera scanner can save users from having to press a scan start button since the timing at which an image of a document is captured is detected.
However, the above-described camera scanner requires a significant time and effort in storing a series of documents as separate files, as the conventional multifunction printer with a flatbed scanner. That is, it is necessary to repeat scanning operations for each output file or to divide a file using a PC or the like in post-processing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus which makes it possible to classify and store documents after scanning the documents by intuitive operations such as physically classifying the documents.